Professor Anson Ma takes the Shinkansen (high-speed train) from Tokyo to Kyoto, during a five-day trip to Japan with the Young Scientist Exchange. (Photos courtesy of Anson Ma)UConn researcher Anson Ma recently participated in a prestigious U.S.-Japan Young Scientist Exchange Program that enabled him to spend five days visiting top Japanese universities and research centers, where he presented his research on rheology and processing of nanofluids and met with fellow young researchers.The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, & Technology in Japan (MEXT) initiated the science diplomacy-style exchange program in 2003 to foster collaborations among U.S. and Japanese researchers in strategic areas. Leading young Japanese academics visit U.S. universities and researchers, and U.S. academics reciprocate.
The trip included a visit to the National Institute for Materials Science, including laboratories associated with the institute’s nanotechnology platform.Ma, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was nominated by a senior researcher for his contributions in understanding the flow behavior and processing of complex fluids for biomedical and energy applications. During day-long workshops from Dec. 9 to 13, Ma and his fellow U.S. and Japanese scientists delivered and attended presentations, toured laboratories, and discussed avenues for collaboration.The group visited the National Institute for Materials Science, including laboratories associated with the institute’s nanotechnology platform; the University of Tokyo; Osaka University; and Kyoto University. Among the technology highlights that particularly impressed Ma was the remarkable ultra-high voltage Hitachi electron microscope housed at Osaka University, which is more than 13 meters high.
The ultra-high voltage electron microscope at Osaka University.The delegates also enjoyed one day of sightseeing, when they took the high-speed Shinkansen train (also known as the ‘bullet train’) from Tokyo to Kyoto for a tour of the 17th-century Kodaiji Temple.
The research trip was organized and led by Alexander Revzin, currently a program director in the Biosensing Division at the National Science Foundation and a University of California-Davis professor, and Dino Di Carlo, associate professor of bioengineering at UCLA.
“The goal is to unveil areas of mutual interest and to build collaborative research bridges in transformative research arenas,” says Di Carlo.
Professor Hidetoshi Kotera, executive vice-president of Kyoto University for external strategy, knowledge, and technology transfer and innovation, speaks about current research activities and future plans for the university.The exchange program focuses on bio-nano-micro technologies, and while the themes have remained constant since 2003, the application areas – for example, manufacturing, sensing, and energy – of the visits vary from year to year. When Japanese delegates come to the U.S., they visit various different U.S. universities during their exchange tours; in recent years, these have included UCLA, Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Northwestern, and the University of North Carolina.
Ma says the experience was extremely worthwhile, noting that he met potential collaborators among the U.S. delegates as well as among the Japanese faculty. He found the work of three Japanese researchers particularly compelling. One is involved in biomechanics research focusing on the motion of cells, and another is developing a bioadhesive for creating 3-D tissue using cells as building blocks – “just like playing with Lego blocks,” says Ma. A third is developing advanced biomimetic materials.
A visit to Tokyo University, where shoes are not allowed in many labs; visitors must exchange their shoes for slippers.Ma was also impressed with the laboratories and cleanroom facilities, which he says were organized and efficient. However, he was surprised to find that in Japanese laboratories, as in living spaces, scientists must don slippers before entering research spaces – a custom that is forbidden in U.S. labs.
Learn more about Ma’s research program here and here.
Dr. Douglas Adamson and Dr. Thomas Seery were awarded a NSF Grant of $200,000 for the project, “Unimolecular Micelles: Design, Synthesis, and Properties.” The grant was funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division.
The project aims to synthesize and observe polymers that can create stable, single chain globules in solutions. Dr. Adamson says that “protein folds in such a way as to hide most of those insoluble amino acids while the leaving the water soluble ones near the surface.” The objective is to understand how artificial polymers can imitate the nanostructure forming abilities of proteins at a very fundamental level.
The formations of these accurately discrete structures are a continuous challenge for chemists. Adamson and Seery believe that the results of the project “will lead to applications such as robust artificial enzymes” and “plastic antibodies that function much like natural antibodies but avoid the need for biological source.” The morphology within these nanostructures can impact vast areas of technology such as medicines, electronics and biotechnology.
Now with the funding of NSF, Dr. Adamson and Dr. Seery are able to proceed in the process of exploring synthetic materials that may perform some of the functions of proteins. The project will also involve visits to local schools and will contribute to the training of undergraduate and graduate students.
Dr. Douglas H. Adamson received his B.S. degree at the University of Evansville, Indiana and his Ph.D. degree at University of Southern California. He joined the University of Connecticut in August 2008, becoming an Associate Professor in the Polymer Program at IMS with Chemistry as his home department. Dr. Adamson was appointed Director of the Polymer Program in July 2011.
Dr. Thomas Seery, Associate Professor of Chemistry, received his B.A. degree at Harvard University and his Ph. D. degree at University of Southern California. He joined the University of Connecticut in 1994. Dr. Seery’s research interests include studying polymer synthesis at surfaces and physical chemistry of polymers in solution.
Dr. Steven L. Suib, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and recently appointed Director of IMS, has formed a revised Internal Advisory Board.
Since the conception of IMS, the assignment of the Internal Advisory Board has been to provide suggestions and solutions for problems of broad interest within IMS. The Internal Advisory Board consists of ten faculty members from five different departments. “We collaborate as a unit and lay out our vision for the general operation of IMS,” Dr. Ramamurthy Ramprasad, MSE Professor says. The feedback and ideas are forwarded to Director of IMS, Dr. Suib.
Dr. Suib was appointed the new Director of IMS on July 1st, 2013. The former Director of IMS, Dr. Harris Marcus, stepped down after 18 years of service. He will remain on the faculty in the Materials Science & Engineering Department.
The board remains the same throughout the academic year unless specific developments necessitate a change. “The board doesn’t change unless a member from the board resigns and is replaced, or if a member is removed,” says Deborah Perko, Executive Assistant of Infrastructure.
The current board members are:
Dr. Douglas H. Adamson: Director of the Polymer Program and Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Mark Aindow: Associate Director of the Institute of Materials Science and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. S. Pamir Alpay: Department Head and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. A. Jon Goldberg: Professor of Oral Rehabilitation, Biomaterials and Skeletal Development at University of Connecticut Health Center
Dr. Faquir Jain: Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Dr. Ramamurthy Ramprasad: Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. Thomas Seery: Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Steven L. Suib: Director of IMS and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor
Dr. Carolyn M. Teschke: Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology
